


Espresso & Expression

by disasteryffic



Category: Lunar Chronicles - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2016-01-06
Packaged: 2018-05-06 19:35:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5428133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasteryffic/pseuds/disasteryffic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coffee shop AU! Cinder and Cress are baristas at The Lunar Cafe, a snug little coffee house across the street from the local college.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Enter the Wolf

**Author's Note:**

> I'm such trash for Coffee Shop AU's, mostly because I spent so much time working at them!

“Wow, your hand is a robot.”

Cinder stared at the customer across the counter. He was not the first, nor would he be the last, that pointed out her prosthetic. Though she wanted to reply with “wow, your hand is real” in the same disrespectful tone, she held her tongue and handed the empty cup she was holding over to Cress who had already begun prepping the customer’s drink.

“Yup. My leg is too.” Using her right hand -- her human hand -- she punched the order into the POS system. “Your total is $4.85.”

“What happened?” The man handed over his credit card and Cinder couldn’t help but note that he was far too old to be this rude.

“Car accident when I was a kid.”

“Isn’t it hard to work with a fake hand?”

“Technology advances make it pretty easy. My prosthetic works about as well as a natural hand.” She swiped his card and handed it back to him with a forced smile. “Cress will have that right out for you.”

The man nodded and wandered around the cafe. Cinder took the break in customers as an opportunity to lean against the back counter and check her phone.

“Iko? What’s the weather report today?”

“Looks gorgeous to me!” Cinder’s phone chirped back in a perky tone.

Iko, the AI Cress had programmed into her phone, was perfect in Cinder’s opinion. Sure, most phones came with a voice service now, but not like this. Cress’s program had personality and sometimes would chime in without being prompt. Cinder loved it. When she was stuck alone in her apartment, reading through old mechanical engineering textbooks Iko make her feel less crazy.

“How’s the AI working for you?” Cress pressed the lid on the completed latte and handed out to the rude customer. She wiped her hands on her apron and looked at Cinder hopefully.

Cress had only been working at The Lunar Cafe for a few months, apparently under the guidance of her therapist, but she was a welcome addition in Cinder’s opinion. The shy blonde brought some much needed quiet to the normally overly dramatic coffee shop. Plus, she apparently was some sort of hacking prodigy and reprogrammed everything in sight to be more efficient. It meant that Cinder’s phone had broken every condition of its warranty, but to be honest, there wasn’t anything Cress couldn’t fix.

“I love her. She’s great.”

“Is she learning at a fast enough curve?” Cress started wiping down the already spotless espresso machine.

“If she had a body she would be better than most humans that walk in here.”

Cress chuckled as the door swung open. Bright red hair and a bright red hoodie blocked the view of the outdoors temporarily as Scarlet, a regular, shook the snow out of her curls. She bounced up to the counter, nose red and lips parted in a grin.

“Hello ladies. Is my coffee free today?”

Cinder rolled her eyes. If the owner knew how often (or how infrequently, really) Scarlet paid for her drinks, every employee at the Lunar Cafe would be fired. Still, it didn’t matter. Scarlet paid for her drinks in fresh vegetables from her minigarden and all the gossip Cinder and Cress missed out on by not being students.

“Depends.” Cinder returned Scarlet’s grin.

“Oh! What’s new? Give me the gossip!” Iko chimed from inside Cinder’s apron pocket.

“Cress, don’t ever do that to my phone, okay?” Scarlet put a bag of tomatoes on the counter and slid them in Cress’s direction.

“Is this a bribe?” Cress looked down at the produce with a serious expression.

“Nah, that’s a present. I just want to make sure you know I don’t want my phone to have a mind of its own.”

Cress nodded seriously and began making Scarlet’s usual.

“Seriously girl, DISH!” Iko called from her pocket-prison.

“Okay, okay!” Scarlet held up her hands in mock surrender. “Do you remember that guy I punched at the club last week?”

“The one you thought drugged your drink?” Cinder raised an eyebrow.

“Yes. We’re going on a date tomorrow.”

“What?!” All three female voices behind the counter chimed.

“I guess he and his friend were prevent some other scumbag from drugging me, but you know me, I punch first and ask questions later.”

Cress set Scarlet’s drink in front of her, looking like she was in total and complete awe of the story. Cinder knew Cress had a secret addiction to romance novels (a trait she passed on to Iko) and lived for cutesy romance stories. Cinder assumed this qualified.

“So, you broke his nose and he decided to date you?” Cinder half chuckled as she gathered up the milk pitchers to rinse, since Cress was clearly too absorbed in the story to do so herself.

“Yeah. He’s one of those ROTC guys.” Scarlet rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide the the fact that she looked visibly thrilled with this revelation. “His name is Ze’ev but I guess everyone calls him “Wolf.””

“Wolf?!” Cress practically squeaked.

“Yeah, his friend started explaining it to me, but to be honest, I wasn’t really listening. Those guys are on such ego trips when it comes to nicknames like that.” Scarlet took a long swig of her nearly boiling hot latte. “Anyway, he’s hot, and anyone that can pull off a nose bandage like that deserves a shot at a date.”

“Well, it could have been worse,” Cinder mused as she set the pitches on the drying rack.

“Oh?” Scarlet raised an eyebrow.

“YOU COULD HAVE SHOT HIM!” Iko hollered before Cinder could reply.

Scarlet didn’t laugh, instead she tapped her finger against her chin.

“You know,” the redhead began slowly, “if I had had a gun on me, I probably would have.”


	2. A Governor's Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Kai.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, after finding out that there was already a fic called The Lunar Cafe, I changed my title.  
> Also, I really want to read it. I didn't know about it before I started this one so now I have to wait because I don't want to subconsciously steal something the other author wrote. Just know that I really, desperately want to finish my fic so I can read that one!!   
> Also, I do short chapters. It makes it easier for me with my crazy schedule.

Cinder sat at the bar in The Lunar Cafe, flipping through one of her second hand mechanical engineering textbooks. Based on the price she got it for, it was probably out of date and no longer used in any university, but the battered hardback was her favorite. The pages were creased and highlighted when she got it, but were even more so now that she’d had it for a few years.

Her phone sat beside the book, Iko surprisingly quiet for the moment. Probably because Cinder wasn’t inviting conversation and Cress was in the back washing dishes. The Lunar Cafe was always slow around this time, and Cinder sort of loved it.

The bells above the door jingled and when Cress didn’t immediately appear, Cinder looked up to call for her. Then her voice caught in her throat.

She knew the young man who walked in. Everyone did. His name was Kai, he was the Governor’s son, and it was well known he went to the university and studied Political Science. He wanted to follow in his footprints, or at least, that’s what the articles Iko read outloud about him said.

Also, pictures didn’t do him justice.

“Can I help you?” Cinder finally managed, barista instincts kicking in even though she was off.

“I was just hoping to get a cup of coffee.” He eyed the book in front of her. “Do you actually work here?”

“Oh, yeah,” Cinder chuckled nervously. “I’m off, but Cress is swamped with dishes from the last rush. I can help you.”

“OMGCINDERISTHAT--”

Cinder quickly smashed the off button her her phone, effectively silencing Iko before the AI could embarrass her. Smiling guiltily, she tucked her phone in her back pocket and dashed around back, shaking her head at Cress as she ran by, and sliding behind the counter in an impressive display of coordination.

Kai was looking at her with an eyebrow raised, but didn’t question her actions. So, Cinder managed to calm herself with a couple of slow breaths and poured his coffee.

“Room for cream?”

“No thank you.”

“Two dollars even.” She set the cup on the counter in front of him.

“What class is that for?” Kai handed over the two bills and slipped a third in her tip jar.

Cinder glanced over at her book.

“Oh, that’s just for fun. I’m not a student.”

“You study that thoroughly for fun?” He seemed impressed and walked back over to the book, gently flipping through the pages. “You know what they say.”

“About what?” Cinder rang up his order and put the money in the till. It was sort of hard to not just stare at him.

“Textbooks that are falling apart are rarely owned by students whose GPAs are.”

Cinder laughed along with Kai, appreciating the effort he made to be a good customer. She was always fond of people who took the time to talk with her or the other baristas. After all, that’s how she and Scarlet got to be so close.

“It’s a shame I’m not a student, then.”

“No interest?”

“No money.” She shrugged and leaned against the counter. Iko was going to hate her for turning the phone off, but having this conversation was difficult enough without anyone interfering.

“So you study…” Careful not to lose her place, Kai flipped up the cover of the book. “Mechanical Engineering. For fun.”

“Yup.” She folded her arms across her chest, hoping it made her look cool and not like she was suddenly trying to hide her prosthetic hand. After all, she wasn’t ashamed of it, she just didn’t want the conversation to turn to that awkward point. It was nice that he hadn’t mentioned it at all yet.

“So, if my phone breaks, you can fix it.”

“Only if it’s the hardware. Any software stuff you’ll have to talk to Cress. She’s in the back.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to remember that.” He smiled and stretched out his hand. “I’m Kai, it’s nice to meet you.”

Cinder took his hand and tried to return his expression, though it probably looked more nervous than his.

“Cinder.”

“Thanks for the coffee. I’ll have to start coming by here more often.”

“I can get you a punch card started then. Once you buy ten drinks you get one free.”

“Maybe next time.” He released her hand and sauntered out the door, looking every bit as confident as a governor's son should.

Cress poked her head out from the back.

“Was that who I think it was?”

“Yup.”

“Wow. I can’t believe Iko didn’t say anything.”

“Oh, she tried. I turned her off.”

Cress’s eyes widened but it was hard to tell if she was sympathetic to her AI or if her feelings were personally hurt that Cinder didn’t want Iko on in that moment.

“Don’t worry, I’ll turn her on later and fill her in. But she’s not exactly subtle.”

Cress shrugged but offered no further comment before disappearing around the wall again.

Cinder closed her eyes for a second, just basking in the feeling of having a cute boy show interest. Maybe she needed to start spending less free time in her apartment and more at the cafe. Who knew when Kai would show up again?


	3. A Bribe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm definitely limiting myself by trying to keep this all within the actual cafe, but I'm really to try and set myself up for longer chapters in the near future.

At exactly two minutes before closing time, Scarlet rushed into The Lunar Cafe out of breath. She had sprinted from her car to the door and now prayed that the barista she needed was working. Sure enough, Cress stood behind the counter cleaning the espresso machine for the last time that night. Scarlet sauntered up, trying to come across as calm.

“Cress, I have a proposition for you.”

“Please don’t ask for a drink. I’ve already cleaned the machine…”

“No, it’s bigger than that.” Scarlet laid her produce laden bag on the counter before putting her hands on her hips. “This is just the upfront payment.”

Cress shuffled over and looked through the bag, one eyebrow raised. Scarlet loved it when no one else was in the cafe because she felt like Cress showed her true self, not just the shy little blonde. Scarlet had a very real girl-crush on confident hacker Cress.

“Please say it isn’t anything illegal. My therapist says I take needless risks in my hacking to make up for my lack of social life. It’s self destructive and can’t possibly have the outcome I’d like.”

Scarlet grinned widely. There was the girl she was looking for. She pulled out her phone, opened her photo gallery, and held out the screen, offering a picture to Cress. She watched as Cress’s wide blue eyes grew even bigger.

“Who are they?”

“Ze’ev and Carswell. Don’t bother looking at Ze’ev, I have dibs.”

“He’s the guy you punched.”

“Yes. So we’re supposed to go out tonight but his friend doesn’t want to be ditched so we have to reschedule unless I could find someone to double with.”

“Cinder would be better for this. She’s so great with people.”

“Please, I’ve already heard about her and Kai. Besides, I think you are exactly Carswell’s type.”

“Me?” It was adorable how Cress’s voice got all squeaky when she was caught off guard.

“Yeah, come on! You’re so tiny and adorable. Just give him a chance.”

Cress didn’t immediately say anything, but she did start to look through the vegetables in the bag which Scarlet took as a good sign.

“Come on, imagine how proud your therapist will be if you can tell her you did this. Imagine how proud Winter will be when you can tell her.”

It was a low blow, Scarlet knew it, but she was in a tight spot. It wasn’t super common knowledge that Cress and Winter shared a therapist and therefore little victories with each other. Unfortunately for Cress, Winter liked to talk about those things with her handful of friends which included Scarlet.

Now Cress was biting her lip and looking like she might cave. Scarlet reached over the counter and put her hand on Cress’s shoulder.

“Listen, I wouldn’t have invited you if I thought you were going to fail. I think that you’ll have a lot of fun and meet a nice guy. You may act indifferent, but I see the way you blush and get flustered when someone you’re attracted to shows up at the counter.”

Sure enough, a familiar blush spread over Cress’s cheeks.

“I don’t have anything to wear.” She gestured to her coffee and milk stained clothing. Scarlet only grinned and put her messenger bag on the counter.

“Okay, I know we’re not even close to the same size, but I think I can make this work.”

“Alright. Let me lock up.”

Scarlet settled herself onto the comfiest couch and started texting Ze’ev while Cress busied herself with closing down the shop. She instructed the boys to come by in about 30 mintues to pick them up. It would be a little tight, for sure, but it really wouldn’t be difficult to take Cress from messy barista to sexy date girl.

The moment Cress finished counting the till, Scarlet grabbed her arm and pulled her into the unisex bathroom.

“Okay, don’t take any of this the wrong way, but I brought some makeup too.” She winked at Cress. “It’s not about improving your looks, just trying to give you a confidence boost.”

Scarlet ignored the skeptical look from Cress and immediately started helping the blonde out of her clothes. She’d brought along one of her favorite black dress that was pretty tight on her, but would be all sorts of loose on Cress. But, with the help of a cute belt, she managed to make it look like a fashionable sort of too-big, like it was on purpose and trying to flaunt how thin Cress was without exaggerating it. Luckily, it definitely did NOT look like Scarlet had fished through her closet and just tossed something on Cress.

Despite her initial hesitation, Cress sat patiently with a smile on her face while Cress painted her up with some makeup: winged eyeliner, a little highlighting powder, and some soft pink lipstick. Scarlet had to admit, for being picked up from the bargain pile at Target on the way over, the cosmetics looked good.

It was all really worth it though when Cress saw herself in the mirror. Scarlet leaned against the doorway and watched with a grin as Cress admired herself, turning this way and that while the fabric of the too big yet stylish dress swished around her petite frame.

“You’re going to knock his socks off.”

“You really think so?”

“I wouldn’t lie to you. You’d hack all my social media and ruin my life forever.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“Come on, I bet the guys will be here any minute.”

Arm in arm, the two walked back to the front of the store, Cress flicking lights off as they went. Just as she was about to turn off the main lights (they could keep a lamp in the corner on while they waited) Scarlet saw the outline of their dates walking up. Cress tensed up beside her, but the admiration on her face was obvious.

Ze’ev, Scarlet’s own personal Wolf, strolled up with an awkward, too macho gait that she was starting to find endlessly endearing, while Carswell had his hands in his pockets and the easy walk of a guy who knew exactly how attractive he was.

“Scarlet I changed my mind.”

“Nope, too late.” Snagging the cafe keys from Cress, Scarlet pushed her barista friend to the door just as Ze’ev opened it.

“Carswell, this is Cress. Cress, Carswell.”

“Thorne, please.” Thorne held out his hand. When Cress took it, he kissed her knuckles and winked at her. Scarlet was sure the blonde was about to faint so she kept a steady arm around her.

“Well boys, where to?”

“That is a surprise.” Ze’ev smirked and held out his arm for Scarlet in a very mock-gentlemanly fashion. She loved it.

“I have a feeling tonight will be full of those.” Scarlet nudged Cress out the door and locked up The Lunar Cafe before tucking the keys inside her pocket.

Stars, would Cress and Winter be in for an earful the next day.


	4. Winter

“He’s beautiful.” Winter leaned in a little closer to get a better look at the picture on Scarlet’s phone. “How did you meet him?”

“I thought he was trying to drug me at a bar. Turns out, he was stopping the guy who actually was.”

“Wow.” Winter drew at the word, giving each syllable the maximum amount of attention. “Did you punch him?”

“Of course.” Scarlet slid her finger across her phone screen, bringing up a new picture. “And that’s Thorne.”

Winter looked up from the phone long enough to see a blush burn across Cress’s cheeks. She smiled and turned her attention back to the picture.

“He’s very handsome.” She gently took the phone from Scarlet’s hand and zoomed in on the picture a little bit. “I’m a little bit jealous.”

Scarlet laughed and Cress set Winter’s drink down in front of her with a smile tugging on the corners of her lips. Winter was sure that Scarlet wouldn’t have taken the time to show her the pictures if the date hadn’t gone well. It was nice to know that Cress was finally taking some of her therapist’s advice and going out every once in awhile. 

“I don’t think he’ll call me back though,” Cress confessed as she wiped down the coffee bar. 

“You have absolutely no reason to believe that!” Scarlet slammed her hand on the counter. Winter was suddenly very glad she still had Scarlet’s phone.

“He seemed like he was flirting with you more than he was flirting with me,” Cress confessed, looking a little broken when she said it.

Scarlet looked at Winter and gestured to Cress with her typical “fix it, I can’t deal with her crazy” look. With a gentle smile, Winter handed Scarlet’s phone back to her while keeping her eyes on Cress.

“Remember when I met Jacin?”

“Of course.” Cress sounded tired.

“And remember how sure I was that he would never like me. Not with my episodes, after all.”

“Yes.”

“Well, that was the moment I really started getting serious about taking care of myself. I just thought if someone as kind and brilliant as he is could be concerned with someone like me, maybe I was worth it.” Winter ran her hands down her skirt, smoothing it out. “So, by the time I knew for sure he wanted to be my boyfriend, I’d become so comfortable with myself that it didn’t really matter whether or not I actually got to be with him. I was managing my symptoms better than ever and had very few episodes.”

“I don’t get it.” Cress blinked.

“Yeah, me neither. English please, Winter.” Scarlet just rolled her eyes.

“I mean, use Thorne as a catalyst to improve your own insecurities. Then, by the time you know for sure he wants you, it won’t really matter anymore. Then you’ll feel like you have equal standing in the relationship.” Winter nodded, assuming the two understood her meaning perfectly now. “Make lemonade out of your lemon.”

“Okay…” Scarlet took her phone back and set it on the counter. “Or you could, you know, do the normal thing and let me talk to Wolf about it.”

“I thought his name was Ze’ev.” Winter raised an eyebrow at Scarlet.

“Yes, but his nickname is Wolf and I like it.”

“Please don’t do that. I’ll look like such a loser,” Cress pleaded. “No one has their friends talk to his friends anymore.”

“I could talk to him directly,” Winter offered.

“And what would you say to him?” Scarlet’s tone was a little mocking, but Winter knew she meant well. Everyone was a little defensive of Cress.

“I would ask him his stance on modern technology and how it impacts our day to day life.”

“How is that helpful?” The redhead seemed pretty fed up.

“He’ll inevitably say something positive,” Winter began, “and when he does, I’ll casually mention how adept Cress is with everything electronic. That she’s only a barista to help get her out of the house as she makes a very lucrative living for herself outside of here.”

“I still don’t understand,” Cress confessed. “Can we just leave it alone?”

“No!” Both Winter and Scarlet protested.

“Why not?” Cress had stopped busying herself with cleaning and actually gave the two her full attention.

“Because you deserve to be happy,” Winter replied softly.

“And he’s so cute and it’s obvious you really like him,” Scarlet said.

“Oh! I have the perfect idea.” Winter raised her hand as if she were in school trying to answer a question. “Cress, you should hack into his phone and ruin it as much as possible. He’ll probably whine to Ze’ev about it and Ze’ev will tell him to bring it to you.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because Scarlet will tell him to!” 

“I actually like that plan.” Scarlet laughed. 

Cinder walked in then and gave Winter’s shoulders a pat when she got over to them.

“Why do you always visit Cress and not me?” she teased.

“Oh, I visit you just as much usually. It’s just midterms and I’ve had to do a lot of creating.” Winter smiled up at Cinder. “I have missed you though.”

“I’ve missed you, too. What are you three up to?”

“We were just discussing Scarlet and Cress’s double date and how to ensure Cress gets a call from her ROTC boy.”

“That’s very sweet. Please don’t get me involved. Last time you tried to help set up Cress she ended up crying in the back. I don’t like Cress crying.” Cinder seemed like she was talking to everyone, but really she was just looking at Scarlet.

Winter knew about the last time and how it hadn’t worked out and how Cress had eventually ended up calling in for a week straight because she couldn’t handle interacting with people. Winter also remembered how much Cress improved after that. There was no reasoning with Cinder, their mother hen, about it then. Instead, she changed the subject by pulling a half completed mitten out of her bag.

“Look! I’m making them for Jacin.”

While the girls were busy complimenting her on her creation, Winter was hatching a plan. Somehow, she would get her friends and their love interests together. Everyone deserved a little happiness in their lives.


	5. A Body's Worth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a long time in between posts and this one is so short. My life has been CRAZY.

Cress approached Cinder cautiously. It was a slow day at the Lunar Cafe and both baristas had been thoroughly depressed as neither of their male interests had called them back. So, this seemed as good a time as any to bring up the idea that had been on her mind for the last couple of months.

“Hey Cinder…?”

Cinder turned from tinkering with the register drawer that liked to stick to give Cress her attention. Ever since Winter blabbed that Cress was in therapy to deal with her social anxiety, Cinder had gone out of her way to make sure Cress felt listened to and equal. Sometimes it just made the anxiety worse, but Cress wouldn’t ever tell Cinder that. She appreciated the effort too much.

“Do you think you could build a robot?”

“What kind of robot?”

“Just a body. I could do all of the programming. Any kind of shell.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried to do anything like that before.”

“Yeah, but, you know how to build stuff and you’re such a quick learner.”

“Where would I even get the parts to do that?”

“Oh don’t worry about that. If you could get everything you needed, do you think you could build a robot?”

“I would have to  _ design _ it first.”

Cress sighed.

“Okay, if you had time and resources, could you design and build a robot?”

“Maybe. Why?”

Cress decided that staring at her feet would make this conversation easier. So she did. With great interest.

“I was thinking that if you could build the body, I could do the programming and maybe we could…” She trailed off for a second, trying to decide if Cinder would even like the idea. “Maybe, if you wanted to, we could build Iko a body?”

The shriek that came from Cinder’s apron pocket was loud and high pitched enough that Cress was afraid the glass on the pastry case would shatter. She was also relieved that no one else was in the cafe at that moment.

“Oh please, please, please can I have a body? Please Cinder??”

Cinder took her phone from her pocket and set it on the counter, screen up. Iko had evolved to the point that she found a picture on the internet she wanted to use as a face. It popped up whenever she spoke. Cress and Cinder gathered around and stared at the headshot of some model they didn’t recognize.

“Iko, it’s not going to be really easy or really quick. The structure of a body wouldn’t be too hard, but it’s the chips and stuff that have to go into you that would make it difficult.”

“But if you did it together, you could do it?” Iko sounded desperate. “Oh, I would just like to not be stuck in a phone that you can turn off next time Kai comes in.”

Both Cinder and Cress grimaced. It had been a week since Kai had first come into the cafe. Even the other baristas hadn’t seen him. Cress really believed that Kai was probably just busy, but she was holding onto a slim hope herself. Thorne hadn’t called her after their impromptu double date.

“Kai’s probably going to come in long before we can get you a body,” Cress finally responded. 

“But we’ll do our best. I’ll get some books and see if their are any tutorials online.” Cinder smiled at her phone.

“Oh! I’ll do a search. Don’t mind me, I might be quiet for awhile.”

The picture of the model dimmed until Cinder’s phone had the standard black lock screen again. Cinder pocketed it again before turning her attention back to Cress.

“I don’t know if I can actually do it,” she confessed. “It’s more complicated than anything I’ve made before.”

Cress shrugged. It sounded braggy to say she was confident enough in herself, so she remained silent. 

“Are you really that upset about Kai?” It was a risky question, but Cinder would have checked in on Cress if she knew how hung up on Thorne she was.

“I don’t know,” Cinder admitted quietly. “It’s not just that he’s good-looking, it’s more that he didn’t mention my hand at all.”

Cress nodded. She always felt self-conscious when someone told her that her hair was long. It felt embarrassing. She kept it long because she had an actual mental breakdown whenever she thought about cutting it. She couldn’t imagine how she would feel if parts of her body were near-cybernetic. Even if she found them fascinating and awesome.

“Winter always says I shouldn’t let someone else define my self worth.”

“Winter is wise in her own, strange way.” 

“Do you want me to hack Kai’s Facebook or something?”

“No, not hack…” Cinder hesitated. “But could you see if he’s dating someone?”

“Oh sure, that’s easy enough. Just status wise or should I look into his messaging as well?”

“Just look at his public page.” Cinder groaned. “I don’t want to be  _ that _ girl.”

“Okay.” Cress nodded but had every intention of being nosier than that.

There were some perks to being her and they included a sure-fire way to get Kai back into the cafe to see Cinder, no matter how busy he was.


End file.
